dollar that the debt ceiling is raised. today speaker of the house boehner said the american people do not support raising the debt ceiling without reducing government spending at the same time. president said he will negotiate spending cuts but not with the economy hanging in the balance. >> full faith credit of the united states of america is not a bargaining chip. >>reporter: president challenge is a lot of people we talked to today had no real grasp of what it meant to raise the debt ceiling f.congress raises the debt cell what does it do. puts us more in debt. >> it allows him to borrow more money. >>reporter: half the people we talked to had no idea what the debt ceiling was. she blamed lawmakers. >> i believe honestly they make things purposely confuse to go do whatever they want. >>reporter: so if the president wants to turn up the heat on house republicans he has to make the issue clear and as bruce explains, republicans need to decide if they really want to stand their ground on this issue at the risk of economic down tivrnlt i think a lot has to do yes tea party you want

the "hard vote" to support obama's health care bill had lost. >> team boehner and team obama dig in their heels... >> narrator: now the house belonged to the opposition. >> a president trying to figure out what he does with this... >> president obama acknowledged that he'd taken a shellacking... >> i now pass this gavel and the sacred trust that goes with it to the new speaker. god bless you, speaker boehner. >> narrator: speaker john boehner had 87 new republican lawmakers, many of them deeply conservative. >> these were not people who spent 25 years in politics. in fact, that was a big strike against you. they were elected not to sell out the way so many politicians had done, that they were elected to speak truth to power. >> they'd spent the last two years running around, particularly a lot of these new congressmen in their districts, saying absolutely horrible things about the president-- his ability to lead, his ideology, his integrity, his birth certificate. these are not easy people to deal with. this is a very difficult, ideological caucus, with a very strong sense of self-r

the break, the white house gives john boehner a blessing to push through a temporary suspension of the debt ceiling, but will republicans fall in line? we'll discuss the gop's deficit dilemma when luke russert joins us next on "now." jenna shared her recipe with sharon, who emailed it to emily, who sent it to cindy, who wondered why her soup wasn't quite the same. the recipe's not the recipe... ohhh. [ female announcer ] ...without swanson. the broth cooks trust most when making soup. mmmm! [ female announcer ] the secret is swanson. mmmm! itbut sleep train's huge foyear eends sunday. salels, get beautyrest, posturepedic, even tempur-pedic mattress sets at low clearance prices. save even more on floor samples, demonstrators, and closeout inventory. plus, free same-day delivery, set-up, and removal of your old set. don't wait, sleep train's year end clearance sale ends sunday. superior service, best selection, lowest price, guaranteed. ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ >>> today, the house is expected to pass a bill that would suspend the debt ceiling for

boehner has an 18% approval rating. >> the debt that is crushing the future for our kids. >> this is a party, a retreat. >> a retreat of sorts. >> they may not even vote for this. >> it really is unacceptable. >> they will evolve or die, it is that simple. >> it will stand out as one of the great days. >> today marks 40 years. >> the 40th anniversary of roe v. wade. >> this allows a woman free choice. >> support for reproductive choice is at a record high. >> 54% believe abortion should be legal. >> there was an assault on women's access to reproductive health care. >> do i believe that the supreme court should overturn roe v. wade? yes. >> 70% say it should not be overturned. >> this is a deeply personal issue, one that should be made by women. >> when times change, so must we. >> this time, all the president had to do to make republicans surrender was take the oath of office. today, house republican list leadership made this announcement. >> our conference will look to vote on a measure tomorrow that will temporarily extend the debt ceiling. >> that measure, which is expected to come

your screen. >>> in the spotlight tonight, the boehner rule that is no longer a rule. the boehner rule, like the rule before it said the republican speaker would not allow a vote on any bill that does not have a support of the majority of house republican, not all house republicans, but a majority. boehner first broke that rule on new year's day when he allowed a vote to avert the fiscal curb and raise the top income tax rate. the fiscal cliff deal passed the house, 257 to 167 with only 85 republicans voting for it. and 151 republicans voting against it. boehner broke his rule again tonight when he allowed a vote on a $51 billion hurricane relief package to sandy. the bill passed the house, with just 49 republicans voting for it and 179 republicans voting against hit. today, chuck todd asked if the boehner rule will apply to the debt ceiling. >> if there is not a majority in the house republican conference to raise the debt limit but there is a majority in the house of representatives to raise a clean debt limit, would the leadership be willing to do that? >> you know, let's look at ho

marks the second time now that house speaker john boehner has broken his own rule, the boehner rule, model on the hastert rule. said the speaker would not bring any bill to the floor for a vote that does not have the support of a majority of his conference, a majority of the majority, it's known as. but last night, just about 20% of the republican conference voted for the bill. the vote split the leadership, majority leader eric cantor, majority whip mccarthy voted for the bill. boehner first broke his rule on new year's day when he allowed a vote to avert the fiscal cliff on taxes. apparently there's an addendum to the boehner rule. the majority of the majority, unless the country is on the verge of a tax crisis, or chris christie has access the to a megaphone. christie made sure this week that republicans knew he would use it. >> and i'll say again, new jersey does not expect anything more than what was done for louisiana and alabama and mississippi and if they want to make new rules about disasters, they picked the wrong state to make the new rules with. >> and yesterday, new yor

taxes. now we're talking about spending. republicans, leader mcconnell on the hill, speaker boehner say we're done. we solved the problem of baselines that are flux waiting every two years, we know where we are on the revenue side, and now all the fights need to come on spending, and conservatives are in a good position to talk bow size of government and cutting back a lot of the pelosi, reid, and obama spending binge. neil: you know, i look at the numbers, and, jonas, there's just no way you can get there alone on taxes, that hark to the fact that the the "wall street journal" had tax all their money, $1.3 trillion, does not address the deficit just this year. so you have to get more money from other folks; right? >> no question taxes did not go up enough to settle the budget, the hole of the major spending cuts. obama talks about the clinton years, but taxes were higher for lower income, families, child credits were not there, and lower rates. what's the problem is it did not apply to people and added layers of complexity to an already ridiculously complex tax code. as an investme

, speaker john boehner says president obama wants to annihilate republic republican -- the republican party. even for boehner, that's a low point. plus, the right wing freak out over the president's inaugural address. america's changed. republicans haven't. also, hillary clinton, joe biden and what everybody is saying about them in 2016. it's a big show tonight. so stay with us. ♪ >>> have you joined the politics nation conversation on facebook yet? we hope you will. believe it or not, everyone was speculating about 2016 today. will it be hillary clinton against joe biden? phil says it would be interesting to see who obama endorsed? it certainly would. the letter says obama runs the people in the country like our president. casey says it's time for a woman to run the show. sorry, joe, i'm for hillary. we've got more on the possible sweet 16 match-upcoming up later in the show. but, first, we want to hear your opinion. please head over to facebook and search politics nation and like us to join the conversation that keeps going long after the show ends. [ bop ] [ bop ] you can do that all y

boehner said they will review the republicans and warned good intentions do not necessarily make good laws. the senator said president obama is abusing his power with the executive orders and the senate will hold the first post new town committee in two weeks. we know how the nra feels before the president took the mike, the powerful gun lobby took a strike infuriating straightics with an ad that infolks his daughters. >> the president's kids more important than yours? why is he skeptical about armed security when his kids are protected by armed guards in their school. >> the white house called that ad repugnant and cowardly. we kick things off with peter alexander outside the white house. run down the major takeaways from the president in the executive orders he issued. >> you played the best highlights from today's event, but this was an emotional heart felt appeal from the president encouraging anybody paying attention across america to reach out directly to their congress people, saying congress must act on this issue. you ran through the items on the plate and 23 of these things

authority. the bill would not mandate immediate spending cuts, as house speaker john boehner earlier promised. instead, it would force congress to pass a budget or go without being paid. the government could reach the current debt ceiling by mid-february. ray nagin, the mayor of new orleans during hurricane katrina, has been indicted on charges for corruption. a federal grand jury accused him today of bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering while in office. nagin was the city's mayor from 2002 until 2010. two former new orleans officials and two businessmen have already pleaded guilty in the case. u.s. attorney general eric holder today defended president obama's moves to curb gun violence. the president signed 23 executive orders this week, calling for such things as more research into gun violence. today, in washington, holder told the u.s. conference of mayors that there's no question the orders are legal. >> now let me be very clear. let me be very clear. not one of these executive orders contrary to what a few have said impinges upon anyone's second amendment rights or are inc

is the perfect time for it. house speaker john boehner also ignored the obligation to pay the billings and complained about spending. the american people do not support raising the debt ceiling without reducing government ceiling at the same time. they speak so confident, don't they? it is almost as if they forget about the spending cuts the president already gave them over a year ago. let's try to help them figure it out a little bit with visual and audio assistance. >> i signed into law $1.4 trillion in spending cuts. two week ago, i signed a bill into law regarding revenue, by making sure the wealthiest americans begin to pay their fair share. when you add the money and the interest payments on the debt, that adds up to about $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction over the past two years, not counting the $400 billion saved from winding down the wars in iraq and afghanistan. so we have made progress. >> didn't president clinton say it was all about math? republicans can posture on the debt ceiling all they want. they know the truth. listen to john boehner two years ago. >> do y

boehner declined each and every time. it's interesting, he's not against attending state dinners. >> can't smoke and don't serve merlot. >> there's president bush, attending a state dinner during the bush presidency. >> he had no problem going when he liked who was in the white house, just had a problem going when it was president barack obama, it appears. >> can we show this graphic. mitch mcconnell went. let's show it. it was a good one. the germans went. they love their sauerkraut. >> they were invited to a screening of "lincoln," apparently at the very last minute -- >> nobody's perfect. >> i would think when the president invites you to see a movie at the white house, you might want to go. maybe if you were disagreeable in nature, not fun and quite frankly not interested in getting anywhere on spending, maybe you would decline. look at the president. why don't i play that sound bite again, no matter what you think of his ideologically, joe, wouldn't you want to have a beer with that guy or a beer with mitch mcconnell. >> you keep interrupting. >> we should get a jar. >> shou

quickly because time is running short. >> now, house speaker john boehner responded quickly saying house republicans will do the right thing. they will be responsible, they will meet america's obligations and make sure the government does not shut down. he tried to take that specter off the table. but this is a very tough fight that's getting more and more problematic, larry, because the president said he's going to break the habit of crisis-driven fiscal negotiations. if he's going to succeed in that, somebody is going to have to break and it may have to be soon because treasury secretary geithner said this afternoon we could hit the debt ceiling and exhaust all the extraordinary measures he's been taking as soon as one month from now. >> you know, john, 2010, 2011, the 2012 he negotiated. he voted against the debt ceiling i believe in 2006. why all of a sudden does he not want have to have negotiations? >> i think will's happened, larry, is that the president spent 2011 and 2012 with republicans squeezing him on his priorities, having opposed him during the first two years of his presi

white house? we have this graphic when it comes to state dinners, speaker boehner has not been to one yet. mitch mcconnell we want to one. is that a fair assessment that the president is not making the social connections he needs when it seems that the right is turning him down. >> no question. i think some democrats have probably told me in the president's first term that he was somewhat antisocial. look, this is a good thing and a bad thing. he very much is a family person, he enjoys being around his nuclear family, and that's admirable. however, you are the president. part of your job is to reach phone across the aisles to develop close relationships, but also with members of your own party. i think even members of his own party would say this president has a bit of coolness about him, a bit of distance action and i think that hurt him when it came to certain policy initiatives, and quite frankly a lot of people on the right said i don't think necessarily think what the president is thinking. i'm not sure exactly sure what position i should say. that was pretty much a common known

. let's look at that. >> and in his press conference, president obama quoted speaker john boehner from 2011. >> that would be a financial disaster, not only for our country but for the worldwide economy. i don't think it is a question that is even on the table. >> and the last question of his press conference, the president was asked if he may be more successful with some of the nuts you just heard from if he spent more quality time with them. >> you and your staff are too insular, that you don't socialize enough. >> this, of course, is one of the great myths of governing, that intractable problems, political problems, can somehow be solved over a card game and a couple of drinks. that has never, ever been the case nor will it ever be the case. >> i like speaker boehner personally. and you know, when we went out and played golf we had a great time. but that didn't get a deal done in 2011. >> the president actually had to remind the media that congressional behavior is the result of democracy. >> now if the american people feel strongly about these issues and they push hard and they rew

john boehner earlier promised. instead, it would force congress to pass a budget or go without being paid. the government could reach the current debt ceiling by mid-february. ray nagin, the mayor of new orleans during hurricane katrina, has been indicted on charges for corruption. a federal grand jury accused him today of bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering while in office. nagin was the city's mayor from 2002 until 2010. two former new orleans officials and two businessmen have already pleaded guilty in the case. u.s. attorney general eric holder today defended president obama's moves to curb gun violence. the president signed 23 executive orders this week, calling for such things as more research into gun violence. today, in washington, holder told the u.s. conference of mayors that there's no question the orders are legal. >> now let me be very clear. let me be very clear. not one of these executive orders contrary to what a few have said impinges upon anyone's second amendment rights or are inconsistent with the historical use of executive power. >> sreenivasan: some repub

, speaker john boehner. it is boehner that can stop the president's agenda dead in its tracks. all of the president's priorities including gun control, combatting climate change, ultimately must go through a republican-controlled house that is led by boehner, to get anything passed. he must find a way to work with boehner, despite deep political differences on the very issues that the president wants to pursue. and it's not just the house. there are also pro-oil, pro-gun democrats who can stymy the president's agenda in the senate. that brings us to joe biden. you might consider him the president's ambassador to capitol hill. at the start of the second term, the president is counting more than ever on biden, who quite simply has better and deeper relationships with members of congress than the president himself. he's, frankly, more well liked on capital hill. >> obama! >> thank you so much. >> reporter: and most important it will for t for the president, the people who were there watching his speech. the people that helped him get elected president twice. those are the people that he

basically been very cool -- cruel to the president, out right hostile. john boehner said they'll take up these measures one by one. the senate is going to go in a piecemeal fashion. what interests me is the senate on the gun and on the second term agenda. harry reid said about 10 of the 23 democrats may have a real problem with this gun control agenda. maybe the number's a little bit shorter than that. but you're talking about democrats in states likele north carolina, arkansas, alaska, colorado, who will have trouble supporting the president on a whole host of these issues. it's one thing for the president to demonize the republicans and he's doing that and he's taking on a much more confrontational approach. but what happens when moderate democrats where they have to rely on some republican leaning type voters balk at the president's proposals? that changes the politics very quickly for him. gwen: but i'm curious where americans are. one of the things that i saw in his proposal is that the center for disease control should not be banned by investigating gun violence. who knew that t

senate issue. john boehner issued a statement critical of the senate saying your body has not passed a budget in for years and it is time to produce a budget that cut spending. >> we did pass one. we did the so-called sequestration legislation. i realize he has to play to his base. this poor guy could not get sandy relief at the end of the last congress. they finally got through part of it after some local members of his party said do not give any more campaign contributions to republicans until you do. i would like to see the house to some of that. i do not believe i should tell them what to do. we passed a bipartisan farm bill. we worked very hard on it. it passed overwhelmingly. it got to the house they were afraid to even vote one way or another. we passed the violence against women act. how could anyone be in favor of violence against women? it passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support. if it goes to the house, we cannot do anything on this. we passed the sandy relief. they would not take that on. my message is i appreciate it. i like speaker john boehner. we are friends. ma

, john boehner, lamar alexander attended, they were all invited, they would have joined not only nancy pelosi, harry reid but steven spielberg, tommy lee jones. as tip o'neill famously said about his political foe, ronald reagan, love the sinner. hate the sin. when president reagan would invite the speaker, tip o'neill over to the white house for drinks and raise a glass to one another. there's no shortage of parties planned around inauguration 2013. here is hoping it spills over to the next four years and both sides of the aisle make a move to be more social and more civil. and, hence, more productive. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being with us. "the ed show" with ed schultz, starts right now. >>> good evening, americans. welcome "the ed show" from new york. republicans are raising the white flag. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> they will not collect a ransom in exchange for not crashing the american economy. >> the republican game of chicken is over. eric cantore proposes a three-month deal on the debt ceiling. some democrats are calling it a trap. i'll ask dnc

us this wednesday, january 23rd. there's a new debt ceiling plan from speaker john boehner and the house republicans that could force senate democrats to finally show their hand and pass a budget. plus it's only day four of president obama's second term, but joe biden is already commenting on possibly running for the top job himself in 2016. we'll show you what he said in a minute. first the new developments in the debate over guns in america. the national rifle association last night delivered a sharp response to president obama's inaugural address. speaking in reno, nevada, way waywayn wayne lapierre lashed out at one word from president obama. >> we cannot mistake absolutism, or treat name calling as reasoned debate. >> obama wants to turn the idea of absolutism into a dirty word, just another word for extremism. he wants you, all of you, and americans throughout all of this country, to accept the idea of principles as he sees fit. it's a way of redefining words so that commonsense is turned upside down and that nobody knows the difference. >> lapierre vowed not to give ground o

last month on sandy relief, it has taken john boehner's republican-controlled house 78 days since the storm to pass this bill responding to the storm. in the end, on the republican side, it ended up being a grudging vote for sandy relief. republicans voted against sandy relief by a 3-1 margin. the bill was only able to pass because a minority of republicans joined with democrats to get it done in the house. even though the senate already passed its version of hurricane sandy relief last year, last month, the senate bill has to be redone because it took the house so long to get their side of it done. the senate is expected to get their side done again shortly. and then the president says he will sign the measure into law. >>> and tonight, in further breaking news, as slow as house republicans were to act in response to hurricane sandy, tonight's other major news is about how fast new york state was able to move to respond to a different kind of disaster. tonight one month and one day after the mass shooting at sandy hook elementary school in newtown, connecticut, a town that is onl

. it's actually gotten a little bit harder under speaker boehner who has said -- and i quote -- "i don't feel comfortable scheduling any controversial legislation unless i know we have the votes on our side first." which sounds like he's saying he has to be able to produce a majority of the house out of just the republican caucus before bringing a bill. but whether it's the original hastert rule requiring a majority of the majority before they'll even bring a bill to the floor or what appears to be the boehner rule that they have to have the votes on our side first -- end quote -- it is a rule of obstruction. there are somewhere between 50 and 60 members of the house republican tea party caucus and a whole bunch more house republicans who are scared of the tea party and scared of what might happen to them if they get a tea party primary challenger. so getting a majority of his party together for anything reasonable is a challenge for speaker boehner. house republicans could not get a majority of their conference to support a highway bill. so the hastert rule kicked in, and there wa

. >> horrible numbers for congress. >> a pitiful 14%. >> pretty bad numbers on john boehner's report card. >> the debt ceiling is a dangerous game. >> i don't see that as a winner for them. >> don't fight battles you can't win. >> it is a troubled time for the party. >> let's stop for a second. >> let's make clear decisions. >> the republican strategy. >> stop talking about rape. >> don't fight battles you can't win. >> it is a troubled time for the party, get something done. >> we have to be the party of new solutions, we're not just going to be the party of no. >> it is groundhog day. >> the conservatives, the retreat, we've come a long way since. >> i'm ezra klein in for lawrence o'donnell, one of the great moments, when redford having just won the election, sits down on the bed taking it all in. the next few words are not just to ever film junky, pretty much to every political candidate. >> what do we do now? >> what do we do now? that is always the question, what do you do now when you have to govern? but it is not just a question that affects winners, sometimes losers of electi

. and speaker of the house john boehner said the consequences of failing to increase the debt ceiling are real but so too are the consequences of allowing our spending problem to go unresolved. the spending and debt issues took most of the president's attention today, but he also turned to the issue of gun violence. after the shootings at an elementary school in newtown connecticut, he appointed vice president biden to come up with recommendations for action. the vice president met with lawmakers today and with groups on both sides of the issue last week. plans to submit proposals by tomorrow. president obama would not discuss specifics today. instead he said this. >> i'm confident that there are some steps that we can take that don't require legislation and that are within my authority as president. and where you get a step that has the opportunity to reduce the possibility of gun violence, then i want to go ahead and take it. >> brown: he conceded that a fight in congress is likely but he hopes that some compromise is is possible. >> the issue here is not whether or not we believe i

boehner, not mitch mcconnell, not everyone mitt romney who was the party for the presidency. >> now, jonathan, when you look at this, the birther movement hasn't gone anywhere. they're still going strong. there's been 100 court cases filed to prevent the inauguration ceremony monday siting obama's over-seas birth. and i wonder where that gop base got the idea from that the president wasn't born here. it certainly wasn't just don trump. look at this. >> no one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. they know that this is the place that we were born and raised. >> all i can tell you is ha the general consensus is that he has produced a birth certificate. the question is is it legitimate? >> this is the easiest problem to solve. all the president has to do is show it. >> so why is this important? because if you dehumanize the president, if you made him un-american, you've made him other, then you don't deal with him because he's not american, he's not really le jit. if you're constituents with that, you can't make a deal going forward. how do you make progress when you're trying to

inauguration inauguration 2013. obama spoke. sasha yawned. beyonce sang, boehner went wept, and we were able to see what an inauguration party looked like. last saturday was gun appreciation day lead to go five accidental shootings nationwide. next saturday it's running with scissors appreciate day. today is the birthday of attorney general eric holder, j master j and 36 years ago my friends president jimmy carter pardoned the vietnam war draft evaders. and george w bush, dick cheney and mitt romney didn't show up. [ ♪ theme music ♪ ] >> john: good evening, i'm john fugelsang. this is "viewpoint." thank you for spending your martin luther king jr. holiday with us. president obama marked his second inauguration at president with a speech that was less lofty and a lot of more lefty than his first time around. after taking the oath of office from chief justice john roberts mr. obama outlined a wish-list of progressive policies and programs for the next four years and called for collective action to put them in practice. >> obama: now more than ever we must do these things together